By Kenneth S. Allen
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Although Windsor Run Retirement Counselor Lydia Hill has been busy talking to potential residents, she took time out this fall for a personal journey.

Hill’s brother, Army Major John Batson, returned to his Texas home from Iraq in early October for the first time in nearly a year, and Hill joined the rest of her family in welcoming him stateside.

"I flew in for it. My dad was there. My other brother was there. And of course, my mom wouldn’t miss seeing her firstborn. There were a lot of people in the Batson house," Hill says.

The first daughter
One of the high points of the visit was watching Batson interact with his daughter Anna, born just before he deployed last year.

"He was much more relaxed than I expected," Hill observed. "You could see the peace come over him as he was carrying around his little girl. In fact, I barely got to hold her. I’d have her for a minute, and then she would gently demand to be returned to her dad."

Although the visitors slept in motel rooms, the family spent every waking minute together. "We didn’t even go out to eat," Hill says. "We wanted to get as much family time together as possible. We grilled out for lunch and again for dinner."

They reveled in everyday activities—which aren’t so everyday for Batson, who is stationed in Mosul, Iraq—such as grocery shopping, going to Starbucks, and playing in the backyard with Batson’s sons Joey, 3, and Jimmy, 2. They put on a birthday party for Hill’s other brother, Robert, and played a rousing game of baseball. "I hit the ball over the fence," Hill enthused, "something I never was able to do as a kid."

Creating bonds
Back home in North Carolina, Hill keeps a picture of her brother on the bookcase in her office, and prospective priority list members often ask about it. It opens up a line of conversation that Hill finds both revealing and heartwarming.